Chapter 166 All Dead

"That being said, your sword is way too fast, kid," Hu Xiong said. "I hadn't even started fighting yet, and you'd already slaughtered him."

Li Changqing gave him a side-long glance. Fortunately, he had arrived in time; otherwise, that fellow would have slipped away.

"Alright, let's notify the bureau to send people to handle the scene," Baichuan stepped forward and said.

Hu Xiong chuckled and said, "Shall we find a place for a drink to celebrate?"

Having eliminated Li Guangxu, Li Changqing had finally gotten rid of a thorn in his side.

After notifying the staff of the Thirty-Sixth Bureau, the three of them drove back to Nanlin City. However, at this hour, where could they possibly find a place still serving drinks?

When they arrived at Li Changqing's detective agency, it was inappropriate to disturb Tang Xiaoyu's rest.

So Hu Xiong took charge of the kitchen and made three bowls of egg fried rice.

Outside, the sky was gradually beginning to grow dim and bright.

As he ate the egg fried rice, Li Changqing remained silent. He was pondering a problem: Li Guangxu was dealt with, but how on earth could he resolve the threat posed by Lan Qiqi?

Although he had temporarily fooled Lan Qiqi, he only remembered afterward that Lan Qiqi was, for heaven's sake, a witch who spent her days researching all kinds of potions.

If he tried to palm off nutritional supplements as poison again next time, would he still be able to deceive her?

"Looking so gloomy. Aren't you happy about getting rid of Li Guangxu?" Hu Xiong asked with a smile, casting a glance at Li Changqing.

Li Changqing shook his head. Holding his bowl of egg fried rice, he walked over to the sofa, sat down, and said, "I was just thinking: the Li Guangxu we eliminated was a monster with no background to speak of. What if the enemies we encounter next have massive backing?"

"That depends on just how massive the backing is," Hu Xiong replied upon hearing this.

"What about someone like the Snow Mountain Corpse King?" Li Changqing asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Hu Xiong thought for a moment and said, "The Snow Mountain Corpse King basically stays up north on the Great Snow Mountain. Although it has gathered a bunch of monsters, it rarely leaves that mountain. If we really run into its subordinates, we just kill them. We are the Paranormal Investigation Bureau, one of the top forces around—are we really going to be afraid of a mere Snow Mountain Corpse King?"

"What if we eliminate the Snow Mountain Corpse King's subordinates, and it comes looking for revenge?" Li Changqing asked again.

"Simple, we just go hide at headquarters. The security system at our headquarters is extremely high. Unless it's super monsters of the Three Demons and Four Fiends level launching a hard breakthrough, someone at the level of a corpse king is just delivering his head on a platter if he goes to our headquarters," Hu Xiong said dismissively, well aware of how formidable the bureau's headquarters security was.

Besides, headquarters had countless experts sitting in command.

At that exact moment, Hu Xiong's cell phone suddenly rang.

"Who's calling almost at dawn?" Hu Xiong picked up the phone with a puzzled look. When he checked the screen, he saw it was a call from Zhang Guichuan.

For the bureau chief to call at this hour meant something urgent must have happened. He hurriedly answered the call.

After listening to the call, his expression changed completely.

With a sharp slap, his cell phone dropped to the floor.

Baichuan and Li Changqing looked at Hu Xiong's reaction in astonishment.

"What happened?"

Hu Xiong stammered, "The—the—the entire First Squad is dead."

"What?"

Baichuan sprang up from his chair instantly.

Hu Xiong clenched his fists slightly and said, "Their corpses were all drained dry, frozen solid, and delivered right to the front gates of Mingzheng Orphanage."

This was a blatant provocation against their Thirty-Sixth Bureau.

Hu Xiong clenched his teeth. Qin Shenggen was a few years older than him and was also a graduate of the main academy of the General Investigation Bureau. When he first arrived in Nanlin City, he had received a lot of care from Qin Shenggen.

The two of them had always had a very good relationship.

"Let's go, hurry back and take a look."

The three of them rushed back to Mingzheng Orphanage immediately.

By this time, the sky was already faintly brightening.

In front of the gates of Mingzheng Orphanage, five corpses lay in a row, covered with white sheets.

Zhang Guichuan and all the staff members of the Thirty-Sixth Bureau had arrived. Unsuppressed fury, along with a trace of dread, was etched on everyone's face.

Qin Shenggen was an experienced combat operative. If he had sensed that something was amiss, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to extricate himself.

Moreover, with the combined strength of these five men, what kind of evil entity could slaughter them all without even giving them a chance to send a warning message?

"Chief."

As soon as the three of them arrived, Hu Xiong immediately lifted the white sheet covering Qin Shenggen, staring at his lifeless face on the ground, eyes wide open in unresigned death.

Hu Xiong tightened his grip into a fist and ground his teeth. "Old Qin."

"Last night, Qin Shenggen reported to me that the previous case involving the Yinling Business District had made some headway, and that he was going to investigate it."

"And then, this morning, all their corpses ended up here."

Li Changqing, standing nearby, asked, "What about the clues?"

"Currently unknown," Zhang Guichuan shook his head, taking a deep breath before speaking. "I'm afraid they were destroyed by the evil entity that killed them."

"Bastards." Hu Xiong slammed his fist fiercely against the nearby wall, cracking the masonry under the impact of his blow.

"I've already reported this matter to the General Headquarters," Zhang Guichuan said calmly. "I've applied for reinforcements. Relying solely on our own strength to handle this will probably be very difficult."

"I want to investigate first," Hu Xiong said through clenched teeth.

Zhang Guichuan furrowed his brows slightly. "Hu Xiong, I know you and Qin Shenggen usually had a good relationship, but this is no time for you to act recklessly. Until instructions come down from General Headquarters, no one is allowed to touch this case, understand?"

At this moment, Li Changqing also caught the scent of danger in this affair.

Qin Shenggen and those other four had all successfully passed the assessment in the Breeding Forest, and among them was an old hand like Qin Shenggen.

"Go back and get some proper rest first. You were both worn out from dealing with Li Guangxu last night," Zhang Guichuan sighed and said.

Li Changqing had no choice but to head home to rest for the time being, as there were still no leads whatsoever regarding this case.

...

On the streets of the Yinling Business District, Hu Xiong was in extremely low spirits. He sat alone on a bench by the street, waiting quietly.

Before long, the figure of Zi Yanran appeared. A radiant smile graced her face as she asked, "Mr. Hu, have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here too." Hu Xiong stood up, exhaustion clearly visible on his face.

Instead of resting, he had remembered his promise to accompany Zi Yanran on a shopping trip today and had rushed over in a hurry.

"You look like you haven't rested well at all, and your mood doesn't seem very good either?" Zi Yanran asked, holding her hands behind her back with a puzzled look. "If you'd like, why don't you go back and rest first, and we can reschedule for tomorrow?"

"No need," Hu Xiong waved his hand. "My mind was feeling restless anyway. Taking a walk with Miss Yanran might make things better."

The two of them set off and began strolling through the Yinling Business District.

Walking beside Hu Xiong, Zi Yanran seemed much more relaxed and at ease than before, and the smile on her face grew much broader.

"Mr. Hu, I wonder what could possibly be troubling you enough to put you in such a terrible mood?" Zi Yanran asked with a smile as she walked by his side.

Hu Xiong originally had no intention of speaking of it, but walking alongside Zi Yanran stirred an urge within him to pour out his heart.